Hiking Holavedsleden

Hiking Holavedsleden (59km) from Tranås to Gränna in the last days of April. The numbers and letters showing up through out the video are map reference markers.

Pleasant walk but a lot of roads and not enough trails through the forests. Water was an issue at times but not so much that it was holding me back.

Number of ticks attached, four. A few crawlers too.

For maps and more info about Holavedsleden click here.

 

Locus Gear Khufu DCF-B in Red

A few weeks back I received my Locus Gear Khufu DCF-B in the magical color of red. Looking at their site right after I ordered it a few months ago, the red version was removed. I don’t know if they’ll put the red one back out on the market.

Due to the cold winter and all the snow that we got I haven’t gotten about to pitch it outside and take some pictures of it but the weather changed about a week ago so here we go.

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Aside from how it is delivered out of the box I asked for one modification. The same thing that comes standard with many other tens, a clip that secures the door at the bottom. This clip will relieves stress on the zipper while closing it up and in high winds. This wasn’t something that I paid extra for.

This particular tent with the extra guy lines weighs in at 369 grams rather than the 320 that it’s states on their page. Not an issue for me but might still be good to know that there’s some difference.

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The craftsmanship is very good and all the details looks great. One big difference from my Ultamid that I had before is that the ventilation brim up top is much stiffer and opens up way more. This will help with removing any condensation if I for example have to pitch the tent very close to the ground in high winds.

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Want more information?

This tent has already been showcased and given first impressions on here at LighterPacks but in an older model and another color back in January 2017. You’ll find that post here.

Tramplite Shelter – First impressions

A couple of years ago I found Colins Ibbotsons page http://www.tramplite.com/ and read about his Tramplite shelter. It looked very interesting but it seemed more likely to meet a unicorn than to get my hands on one. So I let the thought of the shelter go.

Then in the winter of 2016 I saw on twitter that Colin was working on his shelters again. I sent him a message and asked if he was taking orders. Of course the books where full, but he promised to put me on the reserves list.

And behold! In November last year a mail landed in my inbox:

Hi Jon

Last year you contacted me about a Tramplite shelter and as you would get one from the next batch I’m checking to see if you are still interested?

Was I still Interested? Oh yes!

So now, finally I’m holding my new Tramplite Shelter in my hands.

The Unicorn

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John Bauer Trail

Coming full circle on this trail or rather where we ended a trip 4 years ago down from Omberg to Gränna. Click this for the old reports, check the ones posted 2013. Them backpacks back then, pew, 25-ish kilos! I could wear about three backpacks now to get to that weight 🙂

It was a good trip with superb weather, 26-28 degrees Celsius and a light breeze. But from a scenic point of view only the first 5-8km from the start (south section) is worth while and the last section (north section) is good for the most part, especially the last bit when you get the view of lake Vättern.

 

Ticks loves this trail, or me, I had 19 of them but only two attached. Jon got away with two… Lucky.

Locus Gear Khufu CTF-B

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I recently got a new shelter from Locus Gear of Japan. It’s a one person shelter with a semi solid inner covering half the foot print. In this way I will get good protection from cold drafts and also a vestibule for storing wet gear and cooking in foul weather.

First impressions are very good. Craftsmanship live up to the hype. This is the Khufu CTF-B, that means that the whole tent is taped together. Only seams are along the zipper, and these are then bonded with cuben tape. Compared to the UltaMid I have been using the last two years this is at least of the same quality.

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The inner attaches easy on the inside but as always its hard to get a good stretch on it. Regarding the clearance there is no problem what so ever, at least 10 cm all around.

 

The tent weighs in at 330 g with pack bag and the inner is 300g. Together with 8 pegs it sums up to almost exactly 700g. Very nice for shelter this size that will hold up good against weather and wind.

 

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Material in the inner looks very nice, the red color is really strong. White walls are very easy to see through so if you plan stay at camps and want som privacy I would recommend something darker. The silnylon is super slippery so I will have to add some seam sealing to the floor to avoid ice skating night time.

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